By Robin Goldsworthy

In all the craziness and planning of starting a new business, sometimes you forget that life goes on.
While we planned the launch of the Crescenta Valley Weekly, many other exciting, and in some cases life changing, things were happening to those around me whom I love.
For example, on Aug. 1 we celebrated a milestone birthday of my husband’s. The Goldsworthys can celebrate the opening of an envelope so you can imagine how excited we were to put on a party for Steve’s 50th!
Having recently returned from Kauai (where I licked my wounds over losing my job), Steve and I were still in a Hawaiian frame of mind and decided to have a tropical theme for the event.
The backyard was decked out with tables and colorful linens (thank you Bonners Rentals) and music poured from the kids’ iPods that had been loaded with Dad’s favorite music. We had Red Thunder cater and the food was fantastic. Traditional barbecue fare that still has people talking.
Not long after 4 p.m. on that Saturday afternoon, our friends and family started arriving to pay homage to the “elderly” gentleman of the house. And being a magnanimous type of fellow, Steve took the ribbing in jest and played the part of the perfect host.
Barely two weeks after the big event, another milestone was marked with our youngest son conquering – ahem, passing – his driver’s test.
It’s so interesting comparing the differences from when we got our licenses (me in the 70s) and the kids today.
Back then, you dragged your parents to the DMV on your 16th birthday, confident that you’d be the one driving home. Now, many kids I know aren’t that eager to get their license. Between the cost of insurance and the restrictions placed on young, new drivers, they’d rather just wait until they’re 18. But our fourth – who turned 16 in December – was having none of that. He practiced, practiced, practiced his driving until he felt he was ready and in mid-August came home with the prize: his driver’s license. Of course he hasn’t done much driving since because he doesn’t have insurance. Ah, the rub.
The final biggie this summer was indeed another milestone: sending our third son off to college.
Before graduating from CVHS in June, Andrew knew that he wanted to go to cooking school. We visited some local facilities, but for him it was Johnson and Wales University, a school that boasts four campuses nationwide.
Last April Steve and Andy visited the Denver campus. The fact that it snowed while they were there only increased Andrew’s desire to attend Denver. After all, he’s a native California boy and the idea of living somewhere it snowed was too appealing to resist (we’ll see what he thinks this winter).
So not long after we cleaned up from Steve’s birthday bash, it was time to start preparing for Andy’s departure to Denver.
For me it was a bittersweet experience deciding what he should pack and what could be shipped; what was absolutely necessary to tote and what he could leave behind.
The first week of September – the day after we got our first edition onto the streets and just a few days into the Station Fire – Steve and Andy boarded a plane to Denver.
Of course it was only Steve who returned.
It’s true that the house is a little quieter and there’s now fewer hands to help with the chores. Unlike parents before me, I don’t rely so much on the oh-too-few phone calls but instead peek at Facebook to find out the day-to-day happenings of my college boy.
We’re already planning the trip home at Thanksgiving and my friends are joking that he should be preparing the holiday turkey.
Of course, that might seem too much like homework.
But it’ll be nice to have him home.

Robin Goldsworthy is the publisher of the Crescenta Valley Weekly. She welcomes your comments at rgoldsworthy@cvweekly.com or (818) 248-2740.